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Justice Illuminated: The Art of Arthur Szyk
Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies In Justice Illuminated, Spertus Museum offers not only the work of a master illustrator and caricaturist, and an insight into a life and milieu now palpably distanced from the majority of our current generation - it also conceals a caveat for the perhaps overly earnest enthusiasts of our digital age. Arthur Szyk (1894-1951) illuminated and illustrated the written word with a meticulous technique that evokes the finest of renaissance and baroque book illustration. Much of the work exhibits an opulence of finely-crafted line, vivid color and formal balance that exploits the inevitable restriction of the page's boundaries and transforms it into a lively human document. The people portrayed in his art are often distinct and concrete individuals, and yet very much creatures of the flat surface, Where the artist rendered a work in its entirety - text and image - the dynamic integration of image, lettering and borders is varied and visually engaging. His human characterization prefigures the tale the figures have to tell. The original art for his 'Friar' from Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is a particular pleasure. The facial expressions and bodily stance immediately encapsulate the classic middle English archetype. His caricatures, in contrast, are, as must often be the case, very much a product of their time and circumstance and now recede into excellently rendered, but dated historicity. The artist's anger in the face of evil, and indignation at anything less than immediate and total triumph over it are very understandable, but they reach out over five decades, when we bring a historical hindsight to our aesthetic judgement. A younger, "Politically-Correct" generation, raised in Post-WWII prosperity and spared the daily, widespread and immediate horrors that came to a close in 1945 may be uneasy about the unsubtle vehemence and recourse to stereotypic shorthand that Szyk, like many others, used in denouncing the architects of unspeakable atrocities, and the political stupidities that abetted them. His portrayals of the "Master-race" do rely on elements that today might seem anti-ethnic and racist. But he was compelled to give the image, where no argument could be adequate. Szyk's skill and passion jar the viewer into a now almost alien world, when only an unquestioning hatred against evil could offer hope that good would triumph. Szyk's work stands as our memory of a time and of events which many of us have not experienced, but do well to remember.  Illustration from the Szyk Haggadah In his more reflective advocacies, Arthur Szyk preferred to offer consequences, rather than imperatives. His excellent work for the precursory League of Nations assumes there can be peace, if men choose to renounce war: he appeals for the right choice through graphic image. In Szyk's "Cain, where is Abel, thy brother?", he brings the aftermath of genocide to the viewer. The viewer cannot escape the realization that things don't "just happen," men are faced with choices and bear a responsibility for themŠ even if they choose an immoral silence.  "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of Man" --Thomas Jefferson His graphics in avid support of a Jewish homeland in Palestine (he visited Israel only once) also found him critical of the British interests in the Middle East which he felt to be opportunistic or insensitive to Israel's need for goodwill from its neighbors. Szyk was aware that justice cannot be just for one and not another. Humans must judge and judge wisely. Justice and freedom must be willed, they cannot be imposed. Finally, the exhibition prompts an observation for the consideration of artists and the public. One is given the uncommon opportunity to examine artwork created uniquely, and destined for reproduction. The reproduction of art, even in quality limited editions, always entails some loss of subtle color and detail. Physical limitations and economic feasability preclude perfection. It has become common practice in publishing for the artist to work originals at a size somewhat larger than the ultimate printing dimensions. Subsequent reduction sharpens the image and often smooths over minute imperfections. Arthur Szyk almost always seems to have worked his art at the size of printing and each line is perfect. He must have worked painstakingly close and almost certainly with a magnifying glass. Nonetheless, almost none of the printed editions convey fully the color nuances and refined linework of the originals. One must really see the originals to appreciate the artist's skills and talents, the building-up of tones and the blending of mixed media, together with the pleasing feel for the weights and shapes of calligraphy. He must have lavished so much effort for the sake of the piece before him. Dissemination must have seemed a secondary consideration while working. Sometimes a work is problematic for reproduction: a limitation in the technology or something less-than-perfect in the pre-press work and the result is disappointing. Conversely, an expert artist can develop his color balance and tonal range to a point where it will reproduce even when the translation to the printed page is degenerative ‹ it will look good, and what is lost is never suspected by the viewer. Szyk was one of the wisest among the second category of artists. The exhibition has the inevitable blown-up reproductions of work displayed in the cases and frames, and which are used as space fillers and section headings. (Why do galleries love the redundant, when we can see the originals? Why not add images that supplement those displayed?) In Szyk's case, the blown-up promos still convey impact. His work is resilient under reproduction. Seeing the originals, however, must make us all the more cautious about second-hand experience, and this especially in our nascent age of digital enhancements, undetectable alterations and unavoidable compromises due to limitations in technology. Nothing is ever really an adequate surrogate for the originals, nor do substitutes offer the evidence by which we gain insights into the working methods and techniques. In the exhibit, differences in media and application can be discerned on some original renderings by viewing the surfaces from a long side-angle. I was unable to find any pencil guidelines in finished work. Even few monastic scribes could boast as much. And nothing replaces the feel of viewing the authentic, physical objects in the company of other gallery visitors, all of whom come with comments and instant, spontaneous responses and who raise questions for discussions. The computer terminal is, at best, a table of contentsŠ RTFB/VTFA! The Spertus Museum Gift Shop does offer some collectors' prints as well as deluxe and trade editions of the exhibition catalogue. The trade edition costs $29.95. It is well worth it. --G. Jurek Polanski Jurek Polanski has previously written and art edited for Strong Coffee in Chicago. He's also well known and respected among the Chicago museums and galleries. Jurek is currently a Visual Arts Correspondent for ArtScope.net. |
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